PEER MEDIATION

Last Friday and half of Saturday, Matthew
Stodel and I spent our time at Michael Oak School with class 7’s from our sister schools: Michael Oak and Stellenbosch Waldorf. During this time we were, along with our colleagues from those schools, training the class 7’s to be Peer Mediators. Mediation is the process whereby you intervene in a dispute to bring about agreement. Peer mediation is where this process happens amongst people of the same status.

The learners were trained in listening skills; taught the ability to identify and name feelings; taught how to brain storm; and trained in the skill of summarizing - all skills necessary for the mediation process. In other words our class 7 learners were trained to bring about agreement in disputes amongst their fellow learners in the play ground. This is the fourth year the class 7’s have been trained in mediation at our school.

Many local schools and schools throughout the world are training and using peer mediators to support Behavior codes and Anti-Bullying policies. The mediators are easily identifiable by their MEDIATION coloured sashes. They work in pairs, so that they can support and help each other in the process.

They are also backed up by the Primary School faculty whereby there is a teacher on duty at break each day to assist in cases of bullying and other conflicts that prove difficult for the mediators to resolve. Mediation is a Buzz word of our time. So, if there is an argument at home about whose turn it is to feed the cat or put the garbage out, call on them. They know the ground rules of mediation and they know how to do it and a roster has been drawn up for class 7 pupils to patrol the playground for the rest of the year. You have been warned!
Yvonne Herring, Lifeskills Primary school.
A few reports from the class 7 pupils follow.

Aran Moore
Past Pupil 2006
31st October 1989 - 1st March 2009

Our loving thoughts and heartfelt sympathies to Janey, Chris, Daniel and Sam Moore, on the loss of their son and brother Aran. His poem, (above), read out at the High School assembly on Monday, was a reminder to his teachers and friends of his free spirit and connection with the sea and surf.
Aran’s memorial service will be held this Friday afternoon at 4:30 pm at Muizenberg primary school.

A Heartfelt Thank- You!

If you have had a chance to look through the programme for this year’s Fun Fair I am sure you are astounded at the line up of entertainment that is on offer! Everything imaginable from a Scottish Pipe Band to a display of Classic Cars, Mime and even a Carousel & Mini Train for small children and much more will be at the Fair.
Chris Banks and family have donated a staggering R20, 000 to provide a line up of entertainment that will make this fair an unforgettable experience for all. Thanks for your incredible generosity.
Carmen Mettler and family have also made a cash donation of R5, 000 to go towards covering the costs of promoting the Fair, providing a tent & staging, and essential services. A very sincere thank-you to the Mettler family for your generous contribution.
Ronald Bownes & family have made a significant cash donation to cover the cost of St Johns Medics, additional labour and the provision of bibs for the Marshall’s.
Please if you are in a position to make a donation (large or small) then do so as we still have a long way to go before we have covered our up front costs. Please phone Junita if you require our bank details to make a donation. In the next Grapevine we will publish a list of all the donations of goods and services received for our raffle.  Keep them coming!
Thank-you Waldorf parents for your big heartedness.

TERM ONE IMBIZO

To be or not to be - that is the question! Dear Parents,  it is the intention of the Board, College & Class Representatives to have one Imbizo per term. At the beginning of this year we tentatively scheduled our first Imbizo for Saturday the 7th March. This date however is going to clash with the first session of “Insights into Waldorf Education” organized by the Anthroposophical society. (We would highly recommend you attend this engaging presentation if you are able).

The term is running away with us and teachers & trustees alike have been busy with vision building, management meetings & new parent evenings. As you are aware at the end of the first term we have our major fund raiser for the year our Fun Fair which involves the entire school community. Considering all these factors it has been decided that we will only schedule an Imbizo this term if the impulse/drive comes from the parent body.

If you feel strongly that the school must have an Imbizo this term then please leave your request with Marlene at the school office in a sealed envelope marked “Imbizo Request” or alternatively pop in to see Glenda Muhl or Debbie Brunlich with your request. Otherwise a date will be set for the second term when the school life takes on a steadier pace.

Thank you for your understanding.

WEDNESDAY COFFEE MORNING PROGRAM Term 1, 2009
11 Mar	Music - Establishing Pathways for Learning
	Sam Squire Howes, Kindergarten Therapist
- Program subject to change -
Time:	10:30 am tea, 11 - 12 noon: talk and discussion
Venue:	Puppet theatre, Constantia Waldorf School
Cost:	Suggested donation of R25 towards tea and the speaker.
Info:	Phone Yvonne on 021 794 1492 or Marlene 021 794 2103

SOIL FOR LIFE
Wanted by Soil for Life - the non-profit organization in the Waldorf School grounds.
Glass jam jars: Soil for Life uses them for Preserves Workshops in the communities.
Carpet underfelts/old carpets: If you're replacing your carpets we'll use the old underfelts and carpets to cover and protect compost heaps. Saves a lot of space in the landfills!
Lawn clippings and autumn leaves: We can make good use of them to improve the soil on the sandy Cape Flats.
Drop off your contributions at our offices behind the stables in the school grounds during normal office hours. They will be most gratefully received. 
Phone Dez on 021-794 4982 if you have any queries, or need to arrange for collection.

PEER MEDIATION - Guillaume Cl. 7
When we reached Michael Oak we all went into the hall and were put into groups, red, blue and green. I was red. Then we met some of our group and made some friends. We were given pens and had to write different kinds of conflict, what causes conflict and ways of solving conflict on posters around the hall. After that we went in smaller groups and shared our collages with the people in our group. Then we got a partner in our colour and faced each other, the first movement we did was one of us charged the other with our fists. The other had to duck and go to the ground. The second movement was one of us had to charge again but the other just side stepped. The third movement was one charged and both walked back arm in arm. Then we had to do a poster drawing of one of the movements. After that all the people who did the same movement as I did had to say how they felt about the drawing. After the break we watched Yvonne mediate the wolf (Mr Stodel) and Little Red Riding Hood’s (Ms Sleigh) problem. We then discussed what happened and the procedure that went on. We then played games against the other colours in Hippo ball and nation ball. Before ‘we went to bed’ we watched a video of other children doing peer mediation training. Next morning we practiced brain storming. Next we got a feeling word and drew a picture on a paper heart. Then we had to guess what others were. We then did listening exercises. My partner was Roger, a guy from Stellenbosch. We then got into groups and practiced mediation until lunch.
Conclusion
I felt that this experience helped everyone and now I know how to mediate problems.

PEER MEDIATION - Emma L Cl. 7
We arrived at Michael Oak Waldorf School for an exciting camp. We had to put our stuff down and get ready for a busy day, our first exercise was to get to know everyone. We each showed each other what our posters looked like and why we stuck those things on. We all did different kinds of movement and then had to draw them, one of the teachers showed us how to do mediation and what she was doing wrong. There was also a play about it and how we can solve the situation, then we played a few games and in the evening we watched a documentary about mediation. It was very interesting and the children got bullied a lot.
On Saturday we did a brainstorming exercise and had to find out what we can use a paper clip for. Each of us got a heart and had to write a feeling on the back and then draw that feeling. We also did listening exercises. We had to sit back to back and tell each other different things then finally practiced how to mediate and it went great! The schools that learnt all this: Constantia Waldorf School, Michael Oak Waldorf School, Stellenbosch Waldorf School.

PEER MEDIATOIN – Ella Cl. 7
Friday: We arrived at Michael Oak (which is where the course took place) and put our bags down. The three Waldorf Schools (Michael Oak, Stellenbosh & Constantia) entered the big hall. We greeted one another and were divided into three teams: red, blue and green. We then got into smaller groups of about 5 and explained our conflict collages we had made the previous day. We discussed forms of conflict and the causes of it. Each person had a partner for our movement exercises. We then had to draw down the ‘feeling’ for these movements we did with chalk pastels, and explained what they were. There was a mini-ply on conflict where two girls were fighting over an orange. The mediator resolved this by cutting it in half. We learned that this actually didn’t solve the problem.
Then there was the big play which three of the teachers performed. It showed us possible ways of solving conflict. We played a few ball games and the teams competed against each other. To end off the day we set up our beds in the hall and watched a movie on conflict.
Saturday: We did a brainstorming exercise where we had to think of all the possible things you could do with a paperclip. We got a heart shaped piece of paper and a feeling (e.g. angry) which we had to draw on the heart. In our groups of ten we had to identify the drawings and say what we thought the feeling was. We did a listening exercise with a partner. We were told that all these skills were used in peer mediation.
We then had our mediation practice and had turns to be a mediator and the person with the problem. We learnt a lot at this training course, and improved certain skills, it was a fantastic experience. Personally, I thought the catering was excellent and there were enough breaks in between exercises to socialize well. It was a well-organized event, so thanks to everyone who contributed in making it such a wonderful weekend.

PEER MEDIATION – Grace Cl. 7
On Friday morning at 9:00 am, we all left to go to Michael Oak for a Conflict Resolution and Peer Mediation course. We arrived there all ready for the two days that lay ahead of us, and started social izing and meeting new people from Michael Oak and Stellenbosch Waldorf Schools. We started with a few exercises which involved meeting new people, and then we got into small groups and shared and explained what our collages meant. Then the teachers stuck up posters and we had to write underneath the headings what we thought could cause conflict, and there were other questions. After that we did exercises when we had to face a partner and pretend to be in a physical fight with them, then we had to draw an action out with pastels on a piece of paper and share with people how we felt and what our pictures meant.
After all of that there was a pretend conflict situation with an orange, and how we could make it work and share it without having a huge fight. Then there was a short play involving ‘Little Red Riding Hood’ and the ‘wolf’ in a fight and disagreement, and Yvonne was the mediator who sorted the situation out. Then we played games verses all the teams, Red, Blue and Green and had a lot of fun!
After supper, most of us set up our beds in the big hall, and we settled down and watched a movie on peer mediation and conflict.
The next morning, on Saturday, we started the day with brainstorming. There was a subject, and each group had to come up with as many things as possible on what we could use paperclips (the subject) for. The next activity was we each got a feeling, and we had to draw it out on a piece of paper and not tell anyone what our feeling was, so we could try and guess what everyone’s pictures meant. (But we all ended up cheating and telling each other).
Our next exercise was focused on listening. We had a partner which we had to tell something to, while they deliberately weren’t listening and we had to see how it felt. Finally, after all our activities and exercises, we started practicing mediating with a small group. It went quite well, except for the boys getting so distracted and not actually focusing on what we were doing!
Everything was great, and I felt that I and others can really make a difference. It has taught me a lot, and besides doing work over the weekend, it was really fun.